Platform Markets and Energy Services

A structural shift from transaction-based, marginal cost pricing to fee-based service business models often accompanies We emergence of “platform” markets, i.e. multi-sided markets where an intermediary captures the value of the interaction between user groups. The many examples include telecommunications, data storage, cinema, music and media, and the automobile industry. Why not electricity? In this paper, we explore how the electricity supply industry can be conceived of as a platform-mediated, two-sided market and the consequences for pricing. Through two cases, a balancing services provider for smart home energy management systems and an electric vehicle charge manager, we show where a platform entrant could position itself in the retail electricity markets between supply companies and end-users. The drivers of such a transition include increased volatility due to renewable generation, the new complexity of roles for end-users, and the introduction of information and communication technologies. Conceiving of electricity as a platform market where new entrants provide an energy optimisation and management service may stimulate a competitive ecosystem and innovation. We suggest that fee-based pricing would enable the objectives of time-varying pricing to be achieved without adversely affecting the most vulnerable customers

Psychosocial Climates Differentially Predict 12- to 14-Year-Old Competitive Soccer Players’ Goal Orientations

Youth’s likelihood of participating in sport increases when they maintain a focus on enjoyment, learning, and effort (i.e., task goal orientation) rather than how they compare to others and norms (i.e., ego goal orientation). Achievement goal theory research consistently illustrates the significant influence of leader-created motivational climates on their participants’ goal orientation adoption. However, the influence of caring climate perceptions by highly competitive adolescent athletes on their goal orientation adoption has yet to be examined. Thus, this study assessed how competitive, adolescent soccer players’ perceptions of the climate as caring, task-, and ego-involving predicted their adoption of task and ego goal orientations. Players (N = 152, 62% female, 12–14 years of age) in the Olympic Development Program completed a survey that included measures of the caring climate, task-involving and ego-involving motivational climates, and task and ego goal orientations in soccer. Path analyses revealed males’ task goal orientation was significantly predicted by caring and task-involving climate perceptions. Females’ task goal orientation was significantly predicted by their task-involving climate perceptions. Ego goal orientation was significantly predicted by all athletes’ ego-involving climate perceptions. This is the first study to support the importance of fostering a high caring, as well as high task-involving, and low ego-involving climate when working with highly competitive adolescent athletes to keep their task goal orientation high. Research replicating this study is warranted to provide further support for these relationships longitudinally and across ages and sexes

Transcriptional profiling of Medicago truncatula meristematic root cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The root apical meristem of crop and model legume <it>Medicago truncatula </it>is a significantly different stem cell system to that of the widely studied model plant species <it>Arabidopsis thaliana</it>. In this study we used the Affymetrix <it>Medicago </it>GeneChip^®to compare the transcriptomes of meristem and non-meristematic root to identify root meristem specific candidate genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using mRNA from root meristem and non-meristem we were able to identify 324 and 363 transcripts differentially expressed from the two regions. With bioinformatics tools developed to functionally annotate the <it>Medicago </it>genome array we could identify significant changes in metabolism, signalling and the differentially expression of 55 transcription factors in meristematic and non-meristematic roots.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is the first comprehensive analysis of <it>M. truncatula </it>root meristem cells using this genome array. This data will facilitate the mapping of regulatory and metabolic networks involved in the open root meristem of <it>M. truncatula </it>and provides candidates for functional analysis.</p

Resolution of diaschisis contributes to early recovery from post-stroke aphasia

Diaschisis is a phenomenon observed in stroke that is defined as neuronal dysfunction in regions spared by the infarction but connected to the lesion site. We combined lesion network mapping and task-based functional MRI in 71 patients with post-stroke aphasia to investigate, whether diaschisis and its resolution contribute to early loss and recovery of language functions. Language activation acquired in the acute, subacute and chronic phase was analyzed in compartments with high and low normative resting-state functional connectivity to the lesion site on an individual basis. Regions with high compared to regions with low lesion connectivity showed a steeper increase in language reactivation from the acute to the subacute phase. This finding is compatible with the assumption of resolution of diaschisis. Additionally, language performance in the subacute phase and improvement from the subacute to the chronic phase significantly correlated with the diaschisis effect and its resolution, respectively, suggesting a behavioral relevance of this effect. We therefore assume that undamaged but functionally connected regions become dysfunctional due to missing input from the lesion contributing to the aphasic deficit. Since these regions are structurally intact, dysfunction resolves over time contributing to the rapid early behavioral improvement observed in aphasic stroke patients. Our results demonstrate that diaschisis and its resolution might be a relevant mechanism of early loss and recovery of language function in acute stroke patients

Nova planilha de sistematização da produção (Nova PSP): ferramenta de apoio no diagnóstico e intervenção em unidades de produção familiar com atividade leiteira.

Definição do problema; Proposta de um novo instrumento de análise de sistemas de produção com atividade leiteira; Método de construção participativa da planilha; Características e funcionalidades da nova PSPbitstream/item/177970/1/DT-156-impresso.pdf; bitstream/item/223509/1/PSP-Leite-versao-7.2.xls

Previsão de indicadores econômicos individuais na pecuária leiteira.

O presente trabalho objetivou a obtenção de um modelo preditivo e didático capaz de representar a influência dos indicadores de desempenho da produção leiteira nos aspectos econômicos da atividade.SBIAGRO

The Tension on dsDNA Bound to ssDNA/RecA Filaments May Play an Important Role in Driving Efficient and Accurate Homology Recognition and Strand Exchange

It is well known that during homology recognition and strand exchange the double stranded DNA (dsDNA) in DNA/RecA filaments is highly extended, but the functional role of the extension has been unclear. We present an analytical model that calculates the distribution of tension in the extended dsDNA during strand exchange. The model suggests that the binding of additional dsDNA base pairs to the DNA/RecA filament alters the tension in dsDNA that was already bound to the filament, resulting in a non-linear increase in the mechanical energy as a function of the number of bound base pairs. This collective mechanical response may promote homology stringency and underlie unexplained experimental results

Indicadores de sustentabilidade para unidades de produção familiar com atividade leiteira.

Resumo Existe uma grande preocupação em relação ao êxodo rural e à redução do número de produtores de leite no Rio Grande do Sul. O objetivo deste trabalho foi construir um instrumento de avaliação da sustentabilidade de unidades de produção familiar com atividade leiteira. A equipe interinstitucional da Rede Leite se mobilizou por mais de dois anos para chegar a um conjunto mínimo de indicadores, a partir de descritores e pontos críticos identificados nos sistemas produtivos, que tornasse operacional o conceito de sustentabilidade. O instrumento final consta de 12 indicadores e apresenta potencial para avaliar a sustentabilidade, identificar pontos fortes, fracos, riscos e oportunidades, subsidiando a extensão rural, pesquisa, programas de desenvolvimento e políticas públicas. Palavras-chave: Rede Leite, pesquisa-desenvolvimento, instrumento, descrito

PathExpress update: the enzyme neighbourhood method of associating gene-expression data with metabolic pathways

The post-genomic era presents us with the challenge of linking the vast amount of raw data obtained with transcriptomic and proteomic techniques to relevant biological pathways. We present an update of PathExpress, a web-based tool to interpret gene-expression data and explore the metabolic network without being restricted to predefined pathways. We define the Enzyme Neighbourhood (EN) as a sub-network of linked enzymes with a limited path length to identify the most relevant sub-networks affected in gene-expression experiments. PathExpress is freely available at: http://bioinfoserver.rsbs.anu.edu.au/utils/PathExpress/